According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the phrase “the old college try”roughly means “ to try one’s very best” — but let’s face it: this is out of date. Now more than ever, there are too many rules for getting the college essay “write:”
“Don’t write about your sob story!”
“Don’t write about your sports!”
“Don’t write about your resume!”
“Don’t write about your tragedies!”
“Don’t write about your volunteering!”
I’ll let you in on a little secret: none of them are true. There is only one rule and one rule only:
“Write about yourself!”
This approach is what I like to call the new college try. I account for rapid shifts in admissions trends and AI evolutions by focusing on the individual student. Through one-on-one tutorials, I work to bring the best out of them on paper.
Here are three writing samples from students who adopted the “write” approach:
Monopoly with Yiayia (Villanova Business School):Access Here
Fishing and the Scientific Formula (Princeton School of Engineering):Access Here
The Great Hungarian Plain (Geography at the London School of Economics):Access Here
Each of these three essays breaks the rules of what to write about. If anything, clichés are not topics to avoid like the plague, but rather are useful material that can defy and re-define a reader’s expectations.